It was not!
by MelonRinds
Summary: Carlos and Dorothy Ann go on a date, but neither of them want to admit that's what it is.


**Yay! My first MSB fanfic. Carlos/DA oneshot drabble. In my opinion, no other couple on the show comes as close to awesome ;). I was trying to put together a oneshot for these two for a bit now, then finally I managed to get one little idea that I liked enough to finish and post.**

**Enjoy!

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It was not a date.

Really.

_Not_ a date.

Not even close.

Dorothy Ann didn't know how many times she had been forced to stress the point.

"I saw the perfect dress for your big date at the mall yesterday and - "

"It's not a date."

"Which shoes are you wearing on your date on Friday? Because if you're thinking of those black ones you have, you seriously need to reconsider..."

"It's not a date!"

"Hair down, DA. He'll want to run his hands through it."

"For crying out loud, we're just going as friends!"

Dorothy Ann slammed her books down hard on the cafeteria table, as if showing that she could not have meant it more. Phoebe jumped at the loud noise and spilled tomato soup all down her front. Muttering softly under her breath, Phoebe reached for a napkin and looked at Dorothy Ann scornfully, waiting for her apology.

"Sorry..." DA said, a bit embarrassed at her overreaction. But really, it had been expected. Her friends knew perfectly well she had been being nagged nonstop for the past three days; of course they did, they had been the ones doing all the nagging. "I'm just a bit agitated."

"You'll need to wash that out with some water, Phoebe," Keesha said when Phoebe slopped the damp napkin back onto her lunch tray miserably. "And you can deny it all you want DA, but I still think you should take our advice."

"Maybe not the bit about wearing that purple dress Keesha found for you." Wanda shook her head at her level headed friend as Phoebe excused herself from the table to wash out the soup.

"Hey!" Keesha stabbed her bun with her fork, "It's better than those shoes you insisted she buy. You know, the nine inch heels!"

"Keesha - "

"She'd fall flat on her face the minute she leaves the house. Right in front of him!"

"Or right into his arms!" Wanda snapped back as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Wanda - "

"He'd think she was mental just for putting them on."

"He'd think she was mental if she wore that purple dress."

"Guys stop it!"

Wanda and Keesha ceased their squabble and looked up at Dorothy Ann.

"Stop making such a big deal about this okay? It's not - "

"- a date. Yes we know," said Wanda rolling her eyes and then winking at Keesha who grinned back.

DA glared at the pair of them, wishing nothing more than to have all information concerning her and a certain dark haired boy kept private.

xxx

"Ok, what year did the second world war officially end?"

"I dunno..."

"Who was Stalin?"

"I don't know..."

"When did - "

"Awn Tim, get your nose out of the book. All this studying is making me nauseous," Ralphie finally groaned and leaned back against the bleachers, his eyes closed.

"But the test is right after lunch and if you fail another one - "

"Yeah, yeah, then I'll get kicked off the basketball team," Ralphie snorted. "Like they could really afford to lose me. It's all talk Tim. They're just trying to scare me."

"They banned me from the soccer team after I started that food fight in Mr. Scale's Class right before lunch," Carlos interjected, digging into his backpack for his lunch bag.

"Oh yeah..." Ralphie recalled, an amused smile forming on his face. "Hmm, a lot of people brought pudding that day."

"Yeah," Arnold said, sounding slightly bitter. "It was almost as though it had been planned the day before... I was cleaning chocolate out of my ears for a week afterwards!"

"And they let Carlos back on the team after a week," Ralphie reminded them. "Once Coach Pulpit found out we were going to play West Vella High next."

"Yeah, well do you want to redo social studies next year Ralphie?" Tim asked, waving his textbook in front of Ralphie's face.

"I'll pull through," Ralphie said tiredly, pushing the book away. "I can't concentrate now anyways." He suddenly smirked. "And you Carlos?"

"What?" asked Carlos, mouth full of sandwich.

"Oh, nothing. I - uh - heard something rather interesting from Arnold yesterday - " Arnold's face, already pink with cold, turned a darker shade of magenta - "Something about a certain Miss Parker who asked if you could accompany her on a date at - "

"Hey, it's not a date!" Carlos said abruptly, his face turning as red as the apple in Tim's hand. "She just asked me if I could come with her to the opening of that new wing in the observatory. Does that even _sound_ romantic to you in any way?"

Ralphie sniggered and took a large bite out his muffin. "Yeah," he said, spraying Arnold with crumbs, "Okay Carlos..."

"What?" Carlos demanded. "She said she had to go to the opening because she has that part time job there and she needed to find something to go with her. Said I was the first person she ran into."

Tim raised his eyebrows skeptically and Arnold nervously cleared his throat. "Do you think she _was_ maybe asking you on a date."

"No!" Carlos said quickly. "She wouldn't do that - "

"Would you blame her?" Ralphie asked and Tim snickered.

Carlos hit Ralphie sharply upside the head. "I meant - "

"Come on Carlos, I'd go for it!" Ralphie said. "I'd say you're in! She's really filled out over the years too!"

Carlos smacked him in the head a bit harder the second time.

"Ow!" Ralphie rubbed his head looking at Carlos sourly. "What was that for?"

"Ralphie, just shut up."

"Hey, remember when Arnold asked Wanda to go with him to that...rock...thing..." Ralphie interrupted, "You can't deny that he wasn't asking her out then." Arnold choked. "And this is kind of the same thing." He thumped Arnold on the back.

"Yeah but we know Arnold had that crush on her since the third grade," Carlos said. "There's your difference."

Ralphie raised his eyebrows, still smirking.

"Um - Can we go back inside?" Arnold interjected, shivering. "It's freezing out here."

xxx

"It could be worse Phoebe," Keesha said sympathetically when Phoebe plopped down onto her seat with a damp shirt.

"Yeah how?" Phoebe asked, mixing around her now cold soup glumly.

"You could be wearing a white shirt," Wanda answered.

"Good point."

"Sorry again..." DA said, looking at Phoebe, genuinely feeling quite guilty. "I didn't mean to freak you out like that..."

"It's okay DA," Phoebe smiled at her. "I know you didn't."

"I think you owe Phoebe something for this," Wanda interjected slamming her juice box down onto the table. Her eyes flickered over to the corner of the cafeteria to the door; she smiled. "Let us help you get ready for your big date tonight," she grinned.

Dorothy Ann quickly turned her head towards the entrance of the cafeteria and felt her stomach jolt when her eyes landed upon one of the four boys walking through it.

Phoebe's face perked up. "Hey yeah! Come on DA! Please!"

"Don't mention a word about it around him!" Dorothy Ann almost pleaded. "It's not a date and I don't want him getting any wrong ideas from you three!"

"As if he didn't have them already," Wanda winked at Phoebe.

DA glared daggers at them. "Fine!" she said through gritted teeth. "If you shut up right now, I'll let you come over to my place after school."

xxx

Of course after she had said that, her three best friends had promptly shut their mouths and stayed very quiet about the whole 'date' business that was to occur later that evening. But DA had almost wished they'd hadn't. She was starting to get very annoyed when the three of them fussed around her, pulling her hair every which way to see what looked best, shuffling through her closet looking for her 'perfect' colour, and trying to decide what kind of makeup would best suit the occasion.

In the end, it was just too much for her.

"No perfume Wanda!" DA snapped. "You're suffocating me... Look you guys, it's appreciated but - "

"No it's not."

"No, no it's not. But really I can do all this by myself. And he'll be here in less than half an hour and I haven't even showered yet! Please I can do this by myself!"

"Alright!" said Wanda defeated, throwing up her hands in the air. "Alright, we'll leave. But don't blame us if this date doesn't end up the way you planned."

"But it's not a date Wanda," Phoebe said, smiling at Dorothy Ann. "Come on, DA's right. He'll be here soon. We need to leave."

"Good luck DA," Keesha said before closing the DA's bedroom door behind her, Phoebe, and Wanda.

DA sighed and collapsed on her bed, feeling more nervous than she had before she had asked Carlos to come with her.

xxx

The doorbell rang; Dorothy Ann's heart rate immediately went up and she almost screamed. She dashed to the corner of her room and quickly slipped on her favorite, most comfortable, white heels and looked around wildly for her hair band. She disliked making someone wait for her: liked it even less when it was Carlos. He was usually rather impatient.

Her breath already ragged and hot, Dorothy Ann stumbled down the steps as fast as she could in her heels and reached the bottom of the landing panting heavily. Bad idea she processed quickly, taking a quick glance at her reflection in the hallway mirror. Horrified at the sight of her burning red face, DA tugged nervously at her ponytail and backed up slightly so that she could see the top of her dress in the glass.

Although Wanda had been the one to pick it out, and DA had never been a much of a fan of her taste, this dress was one the two of them could agree on. Minus the fact that Dorothy Ann didn't feel too comfortable in one cut just above her cleavage. It was all well and good for someone like Wanda who didn't have much in that region, but DA, being a bit bigger, couldn't help but feel little uneasy.

But she couldn't resist buying it because of the wonderful light blue colour it was. She liked how the thin layer of gossamer fabric curled loosely around her shoulders and how soft it felt. With her luck, however, she would probably tear it sometime during the night; at least it was short enough that stepping on it and tearing it with her shoes posed a very minute threat..

DA quickly tucked the loose strands of her blond hair back into the hair elastic and waited a bit for the scarlet to drain out of her face. She heard a knock: he was getting impatient. DA closed her eyes, breathed in deeply, and reached for the door. Her heart stopped as she turned the knob with a sweaty hand and Dorothy Ann had to remind herself again that there was nothing to worry about. Nothing different from when they usually hung out together. It was not a date. Her friends had just been getting to her.

Her nerves did not go away, however, when she opened the door. Instead, she felt the uncomfortable heat creeping up her neck again as she took sight of Carlos, who was leaning casually against the side of her porch. He straightened up immediately at the sight of her. Dorothy Ann felt the knot in her stomach loosen slightly as she thought she might have caught a very surprised look on Carlos's face. A good kind of surprise.

It was only for a second, however, so DA couldn't be sure; Carlos had composed himself back into his apathetic look too quickly.

She cleared her throat nervously.

"You - um -" DA frowned slightly: was it just her or did he look at little nervous himself? "You - er - going to put a jacket on or something? It's freezing out here..."

"Oh. Yes! Yes, I almost forgot!" DA said hurriedly and before he could say anything else, hastily stumbled back inside the warm house. She had noticed the bitter cold, of course, but the ice in the air gave her a kind of distraction away from her powerful internal struggle.

Dorothy Ann lifted her thick winter jack off the hook from the wall and pulled it over her shoulders. She suddenly looked down at her chest: maybe it _was_ cut to low and he'd noticed? She peeked around the door again and caught sight of Carlos again.

"Well, come on," she recovered slightly. "We can't be late or Mrs. Bellows will make me clean up the children's corner again," she stated promptly.

"Right," said Carlos, almost absently and jogged down the porch steps after her. He paused for a second. "You - um - you look really nice."

DA had to force herself not to burst into a smile, and wished nothing more than to be able to do the same thing with her blush. She glanced quickly up at Carlos. He was not looking at her and DA felt her stomach drop disappointedly. She turned her head away quickly. "Thanks..."

The didn't talk much after that. Instead, Dorothy Ann watched the quiet snowflakes float about in the night air, some hitting her nose distractedly. She would occasionally glance at Carlos with sharp blue eyes, but could not think of a single thing to say.

Carlos on the other hand, was not looking at Dorothy Ann at all. He was being unusually quiet, hands stuffed inside his coat pocket, not daring to turn his head in her direction. He had never seen her dressed up like this before. She had always been pretty and, though Carlos rarely admitted it to himself, quite attractive, but tonight the realization was coming full force and Carlos couldn't not stop it.

He had told her she looked pretty. It had actually stumbled out of his mouth. Had he slipped on a puddle of ice or something on the way to her house and gotten a concussion? What other excuse was there for the moment of insanity. His stomach clenched; had she seen his face turn red?

He wasn't wearing anything too fancy. Just dark pants and a semi-formal shirt. He had been sure it wasn't a casual party, but didn't expect DA to go so overboard. Why had she worn such a beautiful dress tonight anyhow? To torment him?! It wasn't a date; she knew it, he knew it. Well then what game was she trying to play with him?!

Carlos scowled, but ceased abruptly, hoping Dorothy Ann didn't catch it. They didn't have much longer to walk, but he had to make conversation. The silence was killing him.

He cleared his throat. "So what's the whole deal with this thing anyways. Is there a ribbon cutting or what...?"

DA looked up at him; she looked nothing short of relieved that he had said something.

"Oh, no... At least I don't think so," she said quickly. "It's just kind of a new exhibit or something. I haven't been in there yet, but I have heard they have a rock from the moon in there. Maybe a stone or two from mars."

"Does the supplier of said rocks have a head of curly orange hair and a voice that makes you want to rip out your own ears?" Carlos grinned.

"No it was _not_ Janet," DA smiled back. "I almost forgot about that..."

"I don't believe that."

"Memories fade Carlos," DA said.

"Memories of spelling lessons with Mr. Bronco fade, memories of science class with The Frizz do not fade and never will," Carlos pointed out.

"Fair enough," DA smiled. "I remember when we went to the desert when you were nagging poor Phoebe about the animals not needing her help and ended up falling asleep on the bus. We left you there and went home without waking you up!"

"Right..." Carlos said sheepishly. "I woke up and it was dark and there was no one in the bus... That was weird..."

"_And_ I also remember you stealing my books and actually enjoyed reading them!"

"Hey, I didn't steal them! I found them! They floated up to the boat!" Carlos defended. "You were stupid enough to leave them on the edge of the float and they fell in the ocean!"

DA glared at him. "_I_ was stupid enough?! You actually thought we would get famous from having our picture taken in "Plant It" magazine! More like infamous!"

"You thought there was no connection between colour and light!"

"Like you did?!" DA inquired. "You were just disagreeing with me for the sake of disagreeing!"

Carlos stopped on the stone steps a few paces away from the entrance. "The point is, you were wrong."

DA narrowed her eyes at him. "Like you have a perfect record going."

"Straight A's Miss Parker," said Carlos proudly.

"P.E. is the dumbest course required! Give _me_ 84 percent..." DA mumbled darkly under her breath, and she walked through the door Carlos help open for her.

"_And_ not to mention I can make a mean cake," Carlos said loftily. "Got some good practice in that bakery."

"You mean when we were the size of ants? Oh yeah I remember."

"You just mixed baking soda and vinegar together the whole time."

"You didn't assign anything else for me," DA said, smiling. "Oh and we can leave our coats in the room here."

"Remember that time we got stuck in Arnold's body?" Carlos asked. He suddenly swallowed. DA had lain her coat down on one of the chairs in the side room and he couldn't help but stare as she fiddled with one of her silver earrings.

"Twice actually... Once with the orange cells and the other when Wanda got lost chasing that piece of gum," DA said frowning slightly. She had suddenly remembered another little detail of that particular field trip that did not make her smile. "You seemed to be the most concerned about Wanda's whereabouts..."

"Who run's around someone's digestive system after a piece of gum?" Carlos said laughing. "Crazy kid...Still is."

"Mmm..." DA trailed off. "Well, we're already a little late for the opening. Actually... There's something I want to show you first..."

Carlos followed DA out the door without another word and they walked side by side down the dimly lit hallway and into the large entrance of the planetarium. The room had always impressed Carlos. Large enough to fit a two story house inside, the walls had the colour and texture of carved blue marbles. There was a large fountain in the center of the room with a statue of a large spider crouching in the center. Carlos had always wondered what a giant spider was doing in the entrance of a planetarium and had asked Dorothy Ann one day. She had just shrugged and said that the building had not always been a planetarium.

Carlos looked over at her now. A few loose strands out of her ponytail were bouncing slightly as she walked. He looked down at her bare hand, swaying lightly by her side. He was strongly tempted to take a hold of it. So strongly tempted that he caught his own hand moving slowly away from him towards hers. He pulled it back quickly and chose instead to run it hard through his hair, and almost groaned.

"Through here," DA said, turning to the right and lead him into a small room on the side.

Carlos stepped inside and observed the room, then looked at DA puzzled. He couldn't see for the life of him why Dorothy Ann had brought him here, of all places.

It was a small room; it was definitely not the main attraction of the Planetarium. The whole place was carpeted, save the ceiling, which had plastic glow-in-the-dark stars stuck atop it. There were stuffed toy stars and planets piled in one corner, and a shelf with neatly piled board games resting inside it. And that was pretty much it. It was the children's corner of the Planetarium.

The lights flickered off. Carlos blinked then started to adjust his eyes to the dark. He took a few steps forward and suddenly felt the floor disappear under his feet. He had walked over the one large, carpet step into the center of the room. He looked up and saw what looked like hundred of glowing stars above him.

"I spent four hours tidying up this place and glueing the plastic stars to the ceiling," DA said directing his attention upwards. Carlos craned his neck.

"Woah, four hours?! I would have quit a long time ago..." Carlos said, amazed she had that kind of patience. He knew she was only doing work like this because she hoped a promotion was coming her way soon and she'd be allowed to work closer to the telescopes. But still... this kind of labour was almost ridiculous. It wasn't even as though the kids would have cared much anyway.

"My back was so sore afterwards. I was planning to quit right after I was done," DA told him, flopping down onto a carpeted seat raised out of the floor. "I was so excited when I got the job... I thought I'd be able to at least work around the telescopes sooner... Not take on children's field trips..."

"You did a brilliant job with the stars though," Carlos said taking his eyes off the glowing plastic for a moment to look at DA. His stomach tightened. Was she turning red?! He felt himself grow hot too and quickly looked away.

"Th - thanks Carlos..." DA said, sounding a bit embarrassed. "I - er - I added the one - the one you bought for me a while back. For my birthday."

"Where?" Carlos asked sharply. He looked back up at the ceiling. "I didn't notice."

"Just to the left of Asellus Primus No Carlos left. Over - " She smiled and shook her head before standing up and walking over towards where he was sitting and, before she could fully comprehend what she was doing, took a light hold of his chin and turned it in the right direction.

Carlos jumped up suddenly, as if electroshocked, so that he was now standing right in front of Dorothy Ann. Dorothy Ann swallowed and now had to tilt her head slightly so she could see his. He was so tall...

"They all look the same..." he said slowly. "Maybe if - " he suddenly grinned. DA frowned and then had to shriek. Before she had even enough chance just to back away, Carlos had bent down quickly, taken a firm hold of her, and lifted her up towards the ceiling so that she was now high enough to look down at him. "Now can you point to it?"

"W - what," DA stuttered. The breath had been knocked out of her. Their body's were so close, his hands held onto her tightly, he was so warm. DA grabbed onto his shoulders to steady herself and she struggled to keep her voice the same way. "Oh, the star. It's um - right here..." Holding on tightly to one shoulder, she reached up with one hand and pointed. "You can let go of me now," she said, suddenly sharp. This was definitely too close for comfort.

He dropped her immediately. She secured her foothold on the carpet floor firmly and glared at Carlos - she had to. He couldn't go around thinking that he was welcome to pick her up at his every wish. It was quite rude.

Yet she didn't back away.

She didn't let go of the front of his shirt.

And she didn't stop looking into those light brown eyes. It was almost as if she couldn't.

And he didn't pull away.

DA could feel her heat beat getting faster and faster and wondered if Carlos could feel it against his chest. She began taking deeper breaths trying to calm herself down.

"We should probably - "

" - Get back to the party," DA finished with a squeak. And they both jumped back quickly. "Or - or maybe go outside. I really need some fresh air."

Carlos swallowed and nodded. He felt slightly sick.

They both hurried over to the door, reaching the knob at the same time. Dorothy jumped back again as their hands made contact. Carlos opened it. They left the room and began walking towards the exit at a faster pace than necessary. DA, too focussed on the powerful internal struggle fighting in her belly, did not even notice that her heels had started cutting into her feet as she walked.

Carlos pushed the exit open when they reached it and the two of them stopped there, outside in the cold. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground, but none falling. DA shivered and rubbed her arms; she had been stupid enought to leave her jacket inside.

They didn't say anything at first, but Carlos didn't want another awkward silence between them and quickly said, before he could stop himself, "You remember when Arnold asked Wanda out. On that date to the rock thing?" He suddenly blinked, wanting to smack himself; where on earth had _that_ come from...

"Y - yeah," DA looked at him sharply. "Why?"

"No... nothing. I just - " Carlos started, searching around wildly for another thing to say.

"What, you thought I meant to ask you on a date here?!" DA said. She wasn't quite sure why she was starting to get so angry, but the rage was definitely bubbling to the surface. "Ha! Don't flatter yourself Carlos!"

Carlos felt his stomach drop slightly with disappointment. Wait, why? It shouldn't. He shouldn't be so disappointed. This is what he wanted. He was _worried_ that that had been the case, not hoping for it. Really.

"You sure?" he asked finally. He wanted to smack himself for saying it. Why didn't he think before he spoke?! "I was under the impression that I was actually quite a catch."

"_Very_ sure Carlos," DA said, wishing she meant it as strongly as she had spoken it. "You and I could never get along well enough for that! Just the idea makes me sick!"

"Yeah," said Carlos quickly. "Me too."

There was a pause.

"You're too stubborn."

Carlos raised his eyebrows. "And you're the most open minded person I know."

"More so than you!" DA folded her arms.

"I'm sorry, but _I_ actually thought there was the possibility you were asking me out today," Carlos told her. "And that maybe it wouldn't be so bad as you seem to think."

DA spluttered. Her face was turning red again. "You are the most disagreeable person I've met! I say one thing and you have to say the other, I do something my way, and it's never good enough for you, I - "

"Then why was it me you asked here? If I'm as irritating as you make it seem!"

"Well why'd you say yes?! If as I'm annoying as you say?!"

"Because."

"Because why?!"

"Because I didn't want to disappoint you. You told me you really wanted me to come."

"You're disappointed me more times than I can remember, Carlos," DA snapped back. "What makes this time so different?!"

Carlos looked slightly pained. "I never try to disappoint you if I can help it."

DA suddenly felt a burning prickling in the corner of her eyes, she had never been so frustrated. Never wanted to speak her mind more. "Well believe it or not, there's no way you _won't_ disappoint me tonight."

"Believe me, I was pretty sure I would disappoint myself tonight," Carlos said irritated. More at himself than DA.

Dorothy Ann turned away from him and gripped the cold metal railing in front of her tightly. She just wanted to go home. She should have just asked Phoebe to come with her. Then she wouldn't have worn this stupid dress. This dress that was rapidly turning her into a popsicle outside in the cold. She would have simply worn one of her skirts and a fancy sweater. She'd at least be warm. She wouldn't have been this close to crying; and crying in front of Carlos would be at the top of her list of worst things that could happen tonight.

Why,_ Why?!_ did she have to fall for one of her best friends.

If she had asked Phoebe then she would be inside, actually making an appearance to her boss. Maybe get that promotion she had been straining herself towards. She wouldn't be outside, she wouldn't be so miserable, she would have been having a good time, Carlos would be having a good time, he would have gone to that stupid baseball game with the guys, he would have stopped thinking about her for the rest of the weekend, he wouldn't have just slipped his hand over hers...

Wait. What?

DA sharply inhaled foggy breath. She had definitely felt his hand close on top of hers. But, he couldn't have...

She looked down. Her heart jumped, it was true; his dark hand was resting on top of her pale one. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and saw him looking straight out ahead determinedly. She felt his thumb gently rub the side of her hand and couldn't help but smile.

"Or not..." she heard him say, sounding amused.

A sharp realization suddenly burst into DA's sense of rationality and she pulled back quickly. "W - what do you think you're doing!"

"I 'm _not_ thinking," Carlos said defiantly turning his body towards her so that they were face to face.

DA looked back down at her hand and then up at Carlos. He wasn't smiling anymore. DA felt hers falter.

They looked at each other for a moment or two, both seemingly failing to realize the fact that their heads were slowly inclining to one another's. DA's tilting upwards, Carlos's tilting down.

She was shivering and her hand shook slightly as she reached up to touch his cheek. She felt his large hands close around her shoulders and moved ever closer to his body.

"You - uh - can stop me if you want," Carlos said, clearly quite apprehensive.

DA almost didn't give him a chance to finish; before he could say or do anything else she cupped his face in both her hands, and pulled him down towards her eager lips.

DA's mind was racing a thousand miles a minute, trying to contemplate what exactly was going on, but she was so numb she could barely feel her own fingers on Carlos's cheeks. She whimpered slightly, wanting to get closer and closer to him where physically it was no longer possible. They had both thought of this moment more than they would have liked to have admitted and now that it was happening DA did not want to forget a single detail. His hands running down her back and sliding over onto her hips, the buttons on his shirt pressing into her stomach, his mouth meshing so perfectly in her own. She moaned and reached up with her hands and tangled them into his hair.

DA would never have expected Carlos to be the one to pull back first. _Never._ Not in a million years. And when he did she tried to pull him back in again, but he stopped just before her lips could grab his.

He grinned, Dorothy Ann could feel his hot breath on her face. "So it _was_ a date."

Heart still beating madly and chest rising and lowering furiously, DA paused for a moment. "No it's - "

But she never did get to finish her sentence.

And she couldn't care less.

Okay. So maybe she _had_ asked him on a date that Wednesday. Maybe she really _had_ been fussing about it for a week, wondering whether or not she should, whether or not he would take it the way he was supposed to; driving herself insane trying to find something the least bit flattering just in case he said yes, just in case she brought up the courage that had been festering down inside her miserably for more than eight years.

And maybe he had really been hoping she had really asked him on a date. Maybe he had been praying that she felt the same way. Maybe he _had_ actually been planning to ask her out next week, because he couldn't stand it much longer. But she didn't have to know that. Because no matter what she claimed, he now knew that this _was_, in fact, their first date. And if he had anything to say about it, definitely not the last.

* * *

**Review if you have the time :) Constructive critisism welcomed.**


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